Demons
by FieryFaerie
Summary: When Inuyasha sneaks off to see Kikyo again, Kagome has had enough. But can she find the courage to let him go? Songfic using Demons by Guster. InuyashaKagome COMPLETE
1. Demons

**Demons**

An Inuyasha Songfic

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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and I'm not Guster, so I don't own "Demons" either

This story is a Prologue to a future story that is as of yet unnamed. Yes, it's angsty, but don't worry, there's more to come!

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Kagome peered into the river, studying her reflection. She wiped away the tears, trying to erase all evidence that she'd been crying. She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. They'd finally defeated Naraku and collected all the shards of the Shikon Jewel, and then he'd gone to _her_… again. Kagome bit her lip and fought back a second wave of tears. Inuyasha hadn't waited more than 24 hours after they'd made it back to Kaede's village before he'd snuck out with Kikyo in the middle of the night. Kagome had been sure that there had been something concrete forming between her and Inuyasha, but her hopes were dashed when she finally went to look for him and found him in a tight embrace with Kikyo. No matter how close she got to Inuyasha, he kept going back to Kikyo again and again. Kagome's heart had broken so many times that she wasn't sure it could ever completely heal.

Kagome stood up and took another deep breath. She gulped back a sob as she resolved to let Inuyasha go for good. '_He doesn't need me anymore,'_ she thought,_ 'I might as well go home and leave him with Kikyo'. _She couldn't bear the thought of watching him turn his back on her to return to Kikyo's arms yet again.

She stood up, smoothed out her skirt, took one last deep breath, and headed back towards Kaede's hut. As she neared the door, Inuyasha stepped out of the hut, stretching and wiping his eyes, still heavy with exhaustion. He looked up to find her standing there, and his eyes widened with anxiety.

"Listen…Kagome?" Inuyasha began, scratching his head nervously, but Kagome cut him off.

"Inuyasha," she said, almost numb, "I'm going home. I shouldn't stay here any longer. You have the Shikon Jewel, and I should be getting home. I don't belong here, and you don't need me anymore." Inuyasha was shocked; he'd finally gotten up the courage to ask her to stay. He searched her eyes for an explanation, but they just looked…dead. The life that had sparkled in her eyes every time she looked at him had vanished.

_ My words confuse you_

_ My eyes don't move a blink_

_ But it's easier sometimes not to be sincere_

_ Somehow I make you believe_

Kagome's blank stare scared Inuyasha. He could tell something was wrong, but Kagome was giving no clues as to what that might be. '_Maybe she really doesn't want to stay with me after all,'_ he thought sadly, _'How could I be so stupid?_'

"Okay, fine," he shot back in his confusion, "I don't know why you hung around this long anyway…I'm sure you're anxious to get back to those stupid tests you love so much!" He crossed his arms and turned away from her, feeling a slight twinge in his chest as he breathed. '_But I want her to stay!' _He thought, the twinge in his chest beginning to squeeze harder, '_I even went to say goodbye to Kikyo last night…I don't understand…Is this what she really wants?' _He turned back around to search her face again for any clues, but she had already turned away and started towards the sacred well. Inuyasha's heart felt like it was being crushed inside his chest.

"Please stay…" he whispered, then said louder, "Why are you really leaving?" Kagome turned around abruptly, surprised by Inuyasha's words. She swallowed back the truth she was bursting to tell him, and blankly said again,

"I'm not needed here anymore. I don't _want_ to be here anymore." Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Take the sacred jewel," she continued, running back to him, pressing the small jewel into Inuyasha's hands, and quickly pulling her own hands away, "Now you can become a full demon. You can get your wish. That's why you made me stay here in the first place, isn't it?" Kagome turned away from him again as her lip began to tremble, betraying her true feelings. What she wanted most in the world was to run into his arms and have him tell her that everything would be alright, that he loved only her…how much easier that would be…but no. She'd made up her mind to do this…this is what was best for them both, though it tore her apart to do it. She took another step towards the well.

_ Honest is easy_

_ Fiction's where genius lies_

_ 'Cause it's easier sometimes not to be involved_

_ Somehow I make you believe_

Inuyasha sat down on the grass, and laid his head in his hands as Kagome neared the well.

"Have a nice life," Kagome shouted as she jumped into the well, a single tear rolling down her cheek as her heart broke for Inuyasha once again. She could see him, sitting in the grass with his head in his hands, and wondered if she's made a mistake, but it was too late now. She passed through time to her own world.

Inuyasha still sat where she had left him, heart breaking more with every breath. Miroku stepped out of Kaede's hut to find Inuyasha sitting like that.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Miroku asked, frightened to see Inuyasha looking so upset.

"It's nothing," Inuyasha said quickly, pulling himself back to his feet and clearing his throat, "I just thought I smelled something, but it was nothing.'

"Oh." Miroku replied disbelievingly, "and where's Kagome?"

"How should I know?" Inuyasha exploded, startling Miroku, "I'm not her damned babysitter!" Inuyasha growled and stormed off towards the river, leaving Miroku confused and alone.

When he reached the river he peered into the smooth calm water.

"We don't need her," he told his reflection, "We don't need her at all…and now that she's gone I can finally get my wish and become a full blooded demon." Inuyasha watched a single tear roll down his reflection's face. He angrily wiped it away.

"We don't need her!" he yelled angrily at his reflection, "I _don't_ need her!"

_ When I speak I cross my fingers_

_ Will you know you've been deceived?_

_ I find a need to be the demon_

_ A demon cannot be hurt._

Inuyasha sat down on the banks of the river and pulled the Shikon Jewel out of his kimono. Grasping it in his fist and holding it to his heart, he closed his eyes and whispered,

"Kagome…"


	2. Home

Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha!

Hey...sorry this took so long to update...I was having a bit of writer's block. Anyways, I hope you like this...and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it, but if I get a good response then I just might! Major thanks to Tinkerbell, my amazing beta and best friend! Woot! Anyways, on with the story!

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Kagome stood at the bottom of the well and looked up to see the roof of the enclosure that held the well in her own time. Convinced that there was no way that Inuyasha would come after her now, she fell to her knees on the cold dirt at the bottom of the well, defeated. '_It's over' _she thought, placing her hands to the dirt and pressing down, as though willing it to stay shut to Inuyasha, _'It's really over.'_

Suddenly drained of all energy, it took everything within her to pull herself to her feet and climb out of the well. She dragged herself into the house, ignoring her mother's cheerful greeting and shuffling up the stairs to her room and locking the door. Throwing herself onto the bed, she submitted to the tears, allowing loud, heavy sobs to escape from her throat.

"It's not fair!" she yelled at no one in particular, burying her face in her pillow, _'After all this time…he still went back to her. I thought…I thought ...' _She closed her eyes tightly and saw Inuyasha holding Kikyo tightly to his chest. '_It's not fair…I love him…' _A loud knock on the door pulled her from her mourning.

"Go away!" she cried, willing whoever was at the door to just leave her alone.

"Kagome?" a small voice asked, shaking with worry.

"Souta, please go away," she begged, "I need to be alone, j-just leave me alone." Souta paused for a moment, then cleared his throat and began to speak again.

"Mom wanted me to tell you that you don't have to talk to us if you don't want to, and that we're going grocery shopping and we'll be back in an hour. Okay?" Souta waited at the door for her to speak, but when Kagome's muffled sobs were the only response he backed away, leaving her with her grief.

Kagome sat up, wiped her eyes with her sleeves, and stood up to look into the mirror.

"What does she have that I don't?" she asked her reflection, staring at the face in the mirror that looked remarkably like Kikyo's. '_She has his heart_,' she thought, lowering herself to the floor beside her bed, and laying her head in her hands, an action that reminded her of a hanyou she had seen sitting in that very same position. '_Grief,' _she thought, '_this is a position of grief.' _Could Inuyasha have been grieving for losing her?

"Did I make a mistake?" she whispered into her hands, "Could we have fixed this?" Kagome's heart swelled for a moment, but she pushed the feeling back.

"No," she said, trying desperately to convince herself, "This is best. For both of us." She looked out the window from her position on the floor and watched as an airplane flew by. "This is where I belong." She told herself, and knew instantly that it was a lie. Images of faces surged across her memory. A kitsune child, a lecherous monk, a youkai taijiya…and a hanyou boy. Her family. Her life in the modern era was merely a façade, she could see it now. Where she really belonged was with them…with him. And now it was too late. The look of pain that had filled Inuyasha's eyes as she had said goodbye would not leave her head. Kagome let her head fall back into her hands, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

o-O-o---

Inuyasha held the jewel close to his heart, and let his memories of Kagome wash over him. In one memory she was pressed against him by the body of a giant centipede as she pulled an arrow from his heart. In another she sat on the well and asked him if she could stay with him. Memories melded into one another. Countless "Osuwaris" that left him face-down in the dirt, countless rides through the countryside with her held firmly to his back. Countless fights over something ridiculous, Countless times he had carried her to safety, watched over her when she was hurt, gone back to get her from her time when she took too long coming back to him. Countless moments that added up to the part of his life that he had shared with Kagome. She had brought him so much happiness; more than he had ever known.

'_She can't really believe that all she is to me is a shard collector,'_ he thought, bringing the jewel up to his face. It was whole and pink and pure. '_She has to know that she means more to me than that._' He thought of the way Kagome had blankly stared at him as she told him that she wanted to leave, and the feeling that he had gotten that something was wrong.

"Why did she leave?" he whispered to the jewel, staring intently at it, as if it would answer him, "I can't let it end like this." He put the jewel back into his haori, stood back up, set his jaw and headed straight for the Bone-Eater's well…to Kagome.

Now back in Kagome's time, Inuyasha stepped gingerly into Kagome's house. It seemed to be empty, but he could smell her, up in her bedroom, and he could smell the dark scent of heartache. '_It's because of me,'_ he realized, feeling a tightening in his chest at the thought that he had caused her pain, '_What did I do?_' He searched his mind for something that he had done that could have caused Kagome this much grief, but could not come up with any rational explanation for her sudden flight. He walked noiselessly up the stairs and found himself in front of Kagome's bedroom door. He hesitated before finally gaining the courage to knock on the door.

"Souta, I said please … _please_ just leave me alone," she said in a voice that was almost too low to hear through the thick door. Inuyasha could hear the tears in her voice, and his heart squeezed even tighter. He hated it when she cried. Especially when it was his fault.

"Kagome?" he said timidly, his concern creeping into his voice. Kagome tensed, the steady flow of tears coming to an abrupt stop. '_Inuyasha_,' she thought, as she sucked in a breath and held it. Maybe it wasn't too late after all.

"No," she whispered, too quietly for even Inuyasha's sensitive ears to hear, "It's too late. He went back to Kikyo. He doesn't love me."

'_Then why is he here?' _A little voice said in her head, but she ignored it, clenching her eyes shut and wishing that Inuyasha would just go away.

On the other side of the door, Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. She still hadn't responded to him. '_You're scaring me, Kagome,'_ he thought, reaching for the doorknob he knew would be locked, and turning it fruitlessly.

"Kagome?" He ventured again, "Kagome? Talk to me." Inuyasha could hear her moving inside the locked room, but she didn't open the door. Frustrated and confused Inuyasha sat down roughly, leaning his back against the door. He felt Kagome crawl to the door and do the same on the other side. They sat silently for a few minutes, each listening to the slow, steady breathing of the other. Inuyasha sighed, whispering to the girl that was mere inches away from him, but that he couldn't see, "Please. Kagome. Let me in." He heard her sigh deeply, a sigh full of fear, doubt, and heartache, and slowly bring herself to her feet. Inuyasha quickly stood and waited for her to open the door.

Kagome took a deep breath, wiped her eyes with her sleeves again, turned the lock to her bedroom door, and reached for the doorknob with a shaky hand. '_What can I say to him?' _she thought, her stomach tying itself in knots. Slowly, she pulled the door towards her, averting her eyes from the boy who stood in front of her. Neither said anything for a few moments that felt like a lifetime, and finally Inuyasha got up the courage to speak.

"Are you okay?" he said gently, taking a small step towards her. She looked up to meet his gaze with eyes full of pain. She nodded slowly, but her lip began to tremble and the nod turned into a shake as fresh tears spilled down her already tear-stained cheeks. Inuyasha acted impulsively, willing to do anything to stop Kagome's weeping. He reached his arms out to the girl and pulled her to him in a tight embrace.

"No." Kagome whispered feebly, but soon gave into the arms of the man she loved, burying her face deep in to his chest and feeling more at home than she had in a long time. She felt the hurt she had felt only moments before wash away as she melted into Inuyasha's strong arms. Those arms were safe. She was about to let out a contented sigh, when she suddenly realized that Inuyasha had been the reason she had been crying in the first place. She roughly pushed him away, and turned her back to him. Inuyasha had felt Kagome relax against him, and was surprised when she pushed him away so abruptly. '_So it really is me that is making her feel this way'_ he thought, his heart sinking into his chest. '_But she hugged me back…she still cares for me…what's holding her back?'_

"What did I do?" he whispered, exasperated. Kagome turned to face him to find his face wrought with hurt confusion. He really couldn't understand why she was so upset? He honestly couldn't think of one thing that he'd done that could have hurt her?

"Kikyo." Kagome cried, fire building up behind her eyes. Inuyasha searched wildly through his mind for a reason that Kikyo could have upset Kagome this much. When she had come by the night before it had been to say goodbye, and Kagome hadn't even seen Kikyo there. Or had she? In the deep recesses of his memory of the night before he heard a slight rustle in the bushes nearby as he embraced Kikyo for the last time. As they said goodbye.

"I want you to live, Inuyasha," Kikyo had said to him, "and you can't do that with me. I am of the dead, and it is time for me to leave the world of the living." Inuyasha had been guiltily relieved when he found that Kikyo didn't want to take him to hell with her anymore. "You have defeated Naraku, and avenged my death," she had whispered, "that is all that I could ever ask from you." Inuyasha had embraced her for a final time, finally letting go of her, and she setting him free. The rustle of the bushes nearby had seemed inconsequential at the time, but now Inuyasha's eyes lit up with comprehension.

"The hug?" he asked carefully, and the fire in Kagome's eyes burned brighter, confirming his suspicions. "That," he said confidently, "will never happen again." Confusion and doubt clouded Kagome's face as she waited for him to continue. "Kikyo set me free last night." He explained, the confusion still settled on Kagome's brow.

"Set you free?" She whispered. Her heart not daring to think what that might mean.

"Yes." Inuyasha continued, his eyes soft and apologetic. "What you saw was a goodbye hug. Kikyo is no longer of this world." The fire in Kagome's eyes fizzled, as her heart dared to believe him, the look in his eyes told her that he wasn't lying.

"Kikyo's…dead?" Kagome whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Yes." Inuyasha said, reaching out his arms and placing his hands on her shoulders, "But she was dead the whole time. She hasn't been the Kikyo I knew for a long time. I realized that I couldn't keep living in the past. She's gone. I have to move on with my life." Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but Inuyasha placed a clawed finger to her lips. "I have one more thing to say…Kagome. Will you stay with me?"

"You…you want me to stay?" Kagome croaked, her heart swelling up bigger and bigger as Inuyasha said things that she'd been longing to hear.

"Yes. Of course I want you to stay, baka! I need you with me, and I will never leave your side ever again. I promise I will protect you. Will you sta-…" Kagome cut him off by rushing into his arms and clasping her hands around the back of his neck. She buried her face in his neck, and said,

"Of course I'll stay!" Inuyasha was surprised by Kagome's sudden embrace, but smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. '_This girl'_ he thought contentedly, '_Makes me feel like I am home.'_


End file.
